23x10 - Inconvenient Truth

[bunniefuu]

In the criminal justice system,

the people are represented

by two separate, yet
equally important groups:

the police, who investigate crime,

and the district attorneys,
who prosecute the offenders.

These are their stories.

How is everything?

This turkey meatloaf thing is sublime.

I hope that means good.

It means amazing.

It's all about the mint.

How long are you gonna
be here in this location?

Another two weeks.

I hope to see you real soon.

- Hey, what's up, man?
- Hey.

I've been waiting on your call.

Sorry, I've been real busy.

Okay, so?

Well, I'm here now.

Now is not a good time.

Wait. Wait, for real?

Come on, man.

Oh, I forgot.

You're a big sh*t.

Hey, don't make a scene.

Or what? Huh?

Hey, whoa, whoa, take it easy.

Hey, man. Walk away.

Hey, come on, Cheese.

Get out of here, now.

[TENSE MUSIC]

I'll see both of y'all real soon.

♪

[CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKING]

One victim, male, Black,

appears to have been
stabbed in the chest.

Vic got a name?

Uh, Jordan Bryant.

He's the owner of the
pop-up, whatever that means.

Have we recovered a m*rder w*apon?

Not yet.

Any sign this might
have been a burglary?

Cell phone's there.
Wallet's on his body.

Let's bag those knives, have them tested

for fingerprints and DNA.

Got it.

Cameras?

Yeah, but the security
system has been shut off.

"Eat like it's your last day on Earth."

That's a catchy slogan.

Until it becomes true.

[DRAMATIC MUSIC]

♪

Jordan and I were, uh,
cleaning up for the night.

And, um, I felt like a smoke,
so I walked over to a bodega,

and I bought a pack of cigarettes.

When I walked back into the restaurant,

I saw all this blood,
and then I saw Jordan.

He was on the floor, and...

Hey, it's okay.

Just take your time.

So I... I started to
walk over to Jordan,

and... and I heard someone,
so I grabbed a Kn*fe

and I chased him out to the street.

And then what happened?

Then he, uh...

he jumped into a car and he drove off.

What kind of car?

BMW, black.

You happen to get a look at the plate?

No.

Sorry, my... my head was spinning.

Hey. It's okay.

You're doing great.

What about the guy? You get eyes on him?

Tell me, uh, skin
color, height, build...

White.

Maybe Latino.

Average height, thin.

How about clothing?

He had a New York Islanders cap on.

And, uh, he was wearing a
shiny green puffer jacket,

one of those expensive ones.

Had an M on it.

Like a logo?

Yeah, on the left sleeve.

All right, this is great, Chris.

Thank you.

Now, earlier in the night,
did anything unusual happen?

Yeah, uh, now that you mention it.

So the waiter's our only eyewitness.

He said the victim got
into a heated argument

earlier in the night,
almost came to blows.

He had to break it up.

And then lo and behold, a few
hours later, the vic is dead.

So was the guy in the
restaurant the same guy

the waiter said he saw
running from the m*rder scene?

He doesn't think so, but you never know.

I mean, it could be more than
one person involved, right?

So does the waiter know
the first guy's name?

He doesn't know his name, but
he kept saying that the vic

referred to him as "Cheese."

He noticed a snake
tattoo on the forearm,

so he's running the tattoo and the alias

through the database now.

All right, so what do
we know about the vic?

There's not a lot of data in the system,

which is kind of weird.

So, I mean, his credit
cards, his driver's license,

utility bills... nothing tracks
back before 24 months or so.

Hey.

Just confirmed our
eyewitness's statement.

He was, in fact, out buying cigarettes.

Bodega he went to was
about 10 minutes away

from the restaurant, so theoretically,

our victim was alone
for about 20 minutes.

But is there any chance the
waiter could have done it?

I mean, just because
he was buying cigarettes

doesn't mean he's innocent.

I get it, but we don't like him for it.

No, there was no blood on
his hands or his clothes.

His story checks out.

All right. How about that black BMW?

Yes, we got video of that.

It passed by an automotive repair shop

a few blocks from the scene

about two minutes after the 911 call.

And I don't suppose the
video captured the plates.

- Did not.
- [KNOCKS]

Hey.

So that snake tattoo comes
back to the Brooklyn Vipers.

There's one dude in the g*ng database

who goes by the alias "Cheese."

His name is Nick Perez, and
he has a pretty good rap sheet.

[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]

♪

This look our guy?

- Nick Perez.
- Yeah?

Need to talk to you about last night.

[SIGHS] Last night? What you mean?

Word is you got into
a beef with the chef.

What, you're here about an argument?

Nah, we're here about a m*rder.

- m*rder?
- Yeah.

The guy that you were
arguing with last night

ended up getting stabbed.

We're trying to figure
out what happened.

Maybe you were involved?
Maybe you know who was?

I don't know nothing about that.

Where were you last
night from 10:00 to 12:00?

Nah, nah. I ain't playing this game.

I want a lawyer.

I've been wrongly accused
of too many things.

- I bet you have. Come on.
- Then we'll make that happen.

Let's go. Come on.

[SPEAKING SPANISH]

First off, my client didn't k*ll anyone.

Okay, if you say so.

But we're gonna need
a lot more than that.

I liked Jordan.

We grew up in the same apartment
complex, Hamilton Gardens.

They always give, uh, housing projects

such nice names, you know?

So you and Jordan were friends, then.

Yeah, you could say that.

And you could also say
you guys got in a fight

last night at his place of business.

We did not get into a fight.

We got into an argument. We argued.

Then some pretty boy waiter
tried to get in the middle,

and that's it.

That's all that happened.

Where were you last night

between 11:00 p.m. and midnight?

My apartment.

Uh, I got home at, like, 10:30.

Check the security cameras
on my apartment complex.

All right. We're gonna do that.

Help me out here.

So why did you go see
Jordan in the first place?

To talk business.

I'm trying to expand my operation.

I'm trying to buy a few food trucks,

so I thought my boy Walker
would be the perfect fit.

But then he changed his
mind, so we got into it.

Hold on a second. Who's Walker?

I had the ME run Jordan's fingerprints.

Turns out his birth
name was Jordan Walker,

not Jordan Bryant.

Court records show he changed
his name two years ago,

a few weeks after he
was released from prison.

Prison? What was he in for?

Served 12 years for the r*pe
and m*rder of a little girl.

What?

But he was exonerated
based on DNA evidence.

[SIGHS] Damn.

Guy finally gets a taste of freedom

only to wind up with
a Kn*fe in his chest.

Jordan Walker was
released 26 months ago.

Changed his surname to
Bryant shortly thereafter.

Was Jordan actually innocent?

We finally tested the
DNA on the victim's body.

Wasn't his.

So how was he convicted
in the first place?

Same way most people are.

Bad ID.

It's more common than you think.

Once that mighty ball of justice
gets rolling, it's hard to stop.

- Sounds like a cop-out.
- More like a fact.

And in this particular case,
there was a lot of pressure.

Victim was a young, affluent white girl.

You know how it is.

I sure do.

How's it going, gentlemen?

Hey, DA Baxter.

Good to see you.

- How are you?
- Good.

Kim was telling me about
what happened to Mr. Bryant.

I want you to know we're here to help,

anything you guys need.

Thank you. We appreciate that.

Any leads so far?

At the moment, we're just trying

to unravel what happened.

How did he end up in
prison in the first place

and how he spent his time
after he was released.

Right.

Well, like I said, we'll
do whatever you need.

You know, I worked a couple
wrongful conviction cases

when I was in private
practice, pro bono.

I loved it.

Probably the most exhilarating
cases I've ever tried.

I bet.

Yeah, it's gotta be an amazing feeling,

getting someone exonerated.

I wouldn't know.

I was 0 for 2. [SCOFFS]

The only two trials I've ever lost.

He's right.

It's really hard to actually
get someone exonerated,

- innocent or not.
- Yeah.

Powerful people hate
admitting they screwed up.

That is true.

Now, turning back to
Jordan for a second,

are you aware of any problems

he was having since his release?

Anyone harassing him, threatening him?

Not to my knowledge.

How about family?

Was he married, any kids?

We still have to make a notification.

He d*ed last night?

He did.

Around midnight.

We're very sorry for your loss.

Ms. Walker, we do have a few
questions, if that's okay.

Do you know if your father
was involved in any fights

or altercations recently?

Not that I'm aware of.

Did he have any enemies?

Well, there are the fellas
from the old neighborhood,

the ones who never
visited him in prison,

the ones who couldn't care
less that he was suffering

in some concrete hole.

The second he collected
that $10 million settlement,

they acted like he had some sort
of obligation to share it with them.

Your dad actually got
paid? He won 10 million?

I'm not sure he won anything.

But yes, he reached a
settlement with the city.

But the truth is, we weren't that close.

I tried.

But it was really hard
to connect with him.

Just because somebody gets exonerated

doesn't mean you snap your fingers

and the world is suddenly perfect

and the past 12 years
didn't actually happen.

[PENSIVE MUSIC]

He tried, though.

Gave me $100,000.

I was able to pay off my student loans.

We just have a few more questions, okay?

We're almost done.

Can you tell us the last time
that you spoke to your father?

The last time you saw him?

A couple of days ago.

And did he mention
anything unusual then?

He was upset.

He'd just split up with
his business partner.

It got pretty ugly too.

Jordan was a great chef
and a terrible businessman.

He just... he didn't seem
to understand that the goal

- was to actually make money.
- All right, look.

This is a video of you and Jordan

arguing outside his
apartment two days ago.

So?

So you wanna tell us what
you were fighting about?

Money.

Or to be more precise,
the lack of money.

He was overspending on everything.

He blew five grand on cutlery,
another ten on artwork.

And then, just when things
couldn't get any worse,

he and his buddies decided
to throw an after-hours party

and drink ten bottles of
our most expensive wine.

So yeah, I was pissed.

And sad, too, you know?

I... I really wanted it to work out.

You mind telling us
where you were last night

between 10:00 and 12:00?

At a charity event in
Harlem for at-risk youth.

I'm on the board.

All right, Charles, if
there's anything else

that you know, or if you have any idea

who might have done this...

The father of that girl
who was r*ped and k*lled



about Jordan getting released.

He refused to believe
he was actually innocent.

How do you know?

He showed up at one of our
pop-ups a few months back,

and he went after Jordan hard.

He told everyone in the damn place

that Jordan was a r*pist and a m*rder*r.

[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]

He threatened to k*ll him too.

♪

I can't believe Jordan's
dead. It's crazy.

It's like the punch line
to the worst joke ever.

I mean, Jordan never
should have been arrested,

let alone convicted. But that's on me.

I'm the one who ID'd
him, in court, under oath.

So you recognize that
Jordan was innocent?

Yeah, I do now.

Even though you were harassing him?

You chased him down to a restaurant.

You called him a m*rder*r.

I'm not proud of the
way I acted, trust me.

I just... I didn't wanna
believe he was innocent.

Then I talked to the woman

at the post-conviction justice unit.

I asked her to go over the case,

show me the actual DNA results.

I realized I was wrong.

We noticed that you made
ten phone calls to him

the week prior to his m*rder.

What were you two talking about?

I was trying to help him.

With what?

Life.

Even though Jordan was
free, he was struggling.

He didn't seem to have
much money, either...

or access to money, anyway.

So I helped him out.

I loaned him $20,000.

What are you talking about?

The guy just won a
$10 million settlement.

So we did a deep dive
into Jordan's finances.

Turns out he was almost broke.

Had about 15 grand in
his various accounts.

Well, where'd all the money go?

He had a $10 million settlement.

I know, but somehow, he only
ended up getting about 1.1.

And he blew through
that pretty quick too.

Nothing crazy, but
typical stuff... rent,

clothes, business expenses.

Gave his daughter 100 grand.

All right.

So where did the other $8.9 million go?

Well, according to the city comptroller,

a lump sum of $10 million was
paid directly to Jordan's lawyer.

[SCOFFS]

I hate to break the news, fellas,

but getting justice
for someone isn't cheap,

whether or not they're innocent.

I never said it was cheap, but still,

I mean, he was awarded 10 million

and he only deposited 1.

Yeah, well, it is what it is.

Can you be any more specific?

We worked on his criminal
appeal for free, pro bono.

Didn't charge him a penny.

But it costs over a
million in hard costs...

private investigators,
paralegals, forensic examiners.

This is money he has to
pay back with interest.

What else was deducted?

My fee, 55%.

That's pretty high.

I take a lot of risk,
spend a lot of my own money.

Still pretty high.

Maybe, but I'm worth it.

But why are you guys really here?

What does any of this have
to do with Jordan's m*rder?

Well, that's a very good question.

We were kind of hoping you
might be able to tell us.

I'm sorry. I... I don't have a clue.

Were you aware of any problems or issues

he was having with anybody
harassing him or threatening him?

I'm not sure.

I'm guessing the answer
is a resounding yes.

Now, why would you say that?

The man spent 12 years in prison.

I bet he made a lot of enemies.

This article says Keith
Palmer has the highest number

of exonerations in the state.

Great. He gets results.

Doesn't mean he's not a crook.

Two things can be true at once.

Looks like Jordan wasn't too happy

with his attorney's
fee structure, either.

He filed a complaint
with the New York Bar

two weeks ago, claims Keith Palmer

conned him out of $3 million.

And it looks like he was
about to go public with it too.

Good for him.

The question is, is
that enough of a motive

for someone like Palmer?

I mean, would he really k*ll over that?

- It's possible.
- Why, you got something?

Well, I've been looking
into Palmer, too,

and it looks like he's about
to be appointed a judge.

So yeah, now would be a really bad time

to have your pants
pulled down by a client,

especially one as
sympathetic as Jordan Bryant.

All right, go back and
talk to the waiter again.

Let's see if he can ID Palmer.

Mm-hmm.

It all happened pretty fast.

I'm not sure that I'll be able
to remember what he looked like.

It's okay.

Let's take a look at these.

If any of them jump out, go
ahead and point, all right?

No pressure.

I've definitely seen this guy before.

How do you know him?

He used to come to Jordan's
pop-ups with his wife.

They were nice.

Good tippers too.

How about the guy that
you saw running out

of the restaurant that night?

If he's there, let us know.

He was wearing a shiny green jacket,

and he had a New York Islanders hat on.

Yeah, um, you already told us

about the hat and the jacket, so.

We're gonna focus on the faces for now.

The man that you saw running
out of the restaurant,

if you see him there, point.

If not, don't.

[TENSE MUSIC]

♪

I'm happy to help you figure this out,

but this is actually
not a great time for me.

So if you don't mind...

Look, we can talk about
this here or the precinct.

It's up to you.

What's going on?

I'm good.

Don't... don't worry about it, sweetie.

Ma'am, you need to step back, all right?

We're gonna talk to your
husband for a minute.

Step back?

- This is my house.
- Mandy, it's fine.

Just give us five minutes, okay?

I'll be upstairs.

Mr. Palmer, where were you the
night that Jordan was m*rder*d?

Are you serious right now?

Please just answer the question.

This is preposterous.

You have a black BMW registered
to your business, correct?

Thanks for coming by. I'm done talking.

I want a lawyer.

Well, if you're officially done talking,

there's only one thing
left for us to do.

And what's that?

Arrest you for the
m*rder of Jordan Bryant.

Hands behind your back, please.

You're making a mistake.

You have the right to remain silent.

Anything you say can and
will be held against you.

Calling docket ending in


charging m*rder in the second degree.

Where's the defendant?

My client is in custody.

He waived his presence and asked

that a plea of "not guilty"
be entered on his behalf.

The People object.

We ask that he be brought into
the courtroom for arraignment.

Why should I allow his
absence, Mr. Delahunt?

This case relies on a questionable
eyewitness identification.

I plan to file a motion to suppress.

My client's face in this
courtroom would defeat the purpose.

Are you seeking bail?

The People seek remand.

The defendant is
alleged to have m*rder*d

his own client, Jordan Bryant.

Mr. Bryant had accused the defendant
of stealing his settlement money.

He filed a complaint with
the State Bar Association,

and he was also considering filing

civil and criminal complaints.

On the night of the
m*rder, the defendant went

to Mr. Bryant's
restaurant to confront him.

They got into an argument.

The defendant grabbed a Kn*fe and
plunged it into Mr. Bryant's chest.

What is the defense asking for?

A reasonable cash bail.

My client is not a flight
risk, and he has every reason

to fight this case in court.

He is an esteemed member
of the New York State Bar

and a valued member of the community.

His wife Amanda is
prepared to post $1 million.

Let's set a short trial date.

I don't wanna see him sitting
in Rikers unnecessarily.

Until then, the defendant is remanded.

[GAVEL BANGS]

Eyewitness identifications

are the leading cause
of wrongful convictions.

In fact, 70% of all DNA exonerations

involve eyewitness testimonies.

And the numbers are even worse

when you factor in
cross-racial identification.

What were the circumstances surrounding

the identification in this case?

It was late at night,
the lighting was dim,

and the k*ller was wearing a hat,

running away from the witness.

Mr. Price?

The defendant was known to the witness.

He'd seen him around the victim's

restaurant several times.

Research has proven that familiarity

increases the likelihood of
an accurate identification.

On the night of the m*rder,
Mr. Wu made no indication

that he knew or even recognized
my client as the person

that k*lled Mr. Bryant.

That's true, but there's a difference

between describing and recognizing.

Your point?

This whole argument goes to the weight,

not the admissibility, of the evidence.

The jury can hear the
witness's testimony

and decide for themselves

if his identification was credible.

I agree with Mr. Price.

The defendant's motion
to suppress is denied.

I knew Keith Palmer.

When I was U.S. attorney,
he was a federal defender.

He's a good lawyer.

I heard he was about to
be appointed to the bench.

It's hard to imagine he could...

I know, but the facts are the facts.

You're confident in the evidence?

It's not perfect, but I think we
have enough to get a conviction.

I mean, we have Chris
Wu's identification,

plus the corroborating evidence.

The witness said he saw the k*ller

wearing a shiny green jacket

with the letter M on the sleeve.

We never actually found that
jacket or the m*rder w*apon,

but we do have credit
card receipts showing

that Mr. Palmer purchased
a jacket matching

that description five months ago.

What else?

The witness also saw the
k*ller jump into a black BMW.

Keith Palmer has two BMWs
registered to his business.

One of them is black, and we can

place the car near the crime scene

at the time of the m*rder.

So what's the motive
for stabbing the guy

he just helped get out of jail?

Palmer was worried about his reputation,

about his plans for a judgeship.

Bryant claimed that Palmer
stole his settlement money.

Did he?

Technically, no, he didn't steal it,

but he took over half the
total award in contingency fees,

and then he charged exorbitant amounts

for paralegals, private
investigators, expert witnesses.

Bryant felt like he'd
been taken advantage of,

and he wanted the
world to know about it.

Okay.

Let's bury the bastard.

[REPORTERS CLAMORING]

Mr. Baxter, did Keith Palmer actually
k*ll the man he helped exonerate?

Your office convicted an innocent man.

Listen, sending an
innocent man to prison

is anathema to the
criminal justice system

and to the human spirit.

Unfortunately, no
matter how hard we try,

mistakes like this
occur from time to time,

and good people are convicted
of crimes they did not commit.

That's why our post-conviction
review unit is so vital.

In fact, I've just authorized the
hiring of ten additional lawyers.

I wanna do everything
that I can to make sure

that wrongfully convicted men and women

are released as soon as possible.

Now, as for Keith
Palmer, on the one hand,

he's done some good things.

He helped exonerate
several innocent men.

On the other hand, he is
a cold-blooded predator

who exploits the very
people he sets out to free.

And in the case of Jordan Bryant,

he not only took the
lion's share of his money,

he m*rder*d him.

That's all for now. Thank you.

DA Baxter, what evidence do
you have that Keith Palmer...

I was ten years old when they
took my father away from me.

Had to grow up without
really knowing him.

We all knew he was
innocent, but the police,

the prosecutors, they wronged him.

They wronged our whole family.

Tell the members of
the jury what happened.

My dad was arrested for
raping and k*lling a girl.

He told us he didn't do it,

that he'd never seen that girl before.

But the DA's office prosecuted him

and sent him to prison for life

because that girl's father said he
saw my father near the crime scene.

No one thought, wait a minute.

Maybe he's wrong.

Maybe it was someone else.

They just believed him.

DNA ultimately exonerated your father?

Yes.

After he was released,
did he seek compensation

- for this tragic mistake?
- Yes.

His lawyer, the one who
helped him get out of prison,

filed a lawsuit against the city.

You're referring to the defendant.

Yes.

Did the defendant negotiate
a settlement with the city?

For $10 million.

I found out my father only
ended up with about 1 million.

Palmer stole the rest.

Objection. Hearsay.

Sustained.

The jury shall disregard
that last comment.

Nothing further.

Thank you, Ms. Walker.

While your father was in prison,

he built quite a reputation for himself.

He was involved in several altercations.

Objection. Facts not in evidence.

Ask a question, sir.

Are you aware that your father

committed a total of 11
infractions while he was in prison?

Objection. Relevance?

- What are you trying to do?
- Your Honor...

Who cares what he did?

He was just trying to survive.

May the witness be
instructed to please answer...

Your Honor...

My father has been through enough.

How dare you drag him through the mud?

Enough, Ms. Walker.

I want to see counsel in chambers, now.

[TENSE MUSIC]

This line of questioning
is completely out of bounds.

The defense has no legitimate
reason to vilify the victim.

I'm just inquiring about the


How is that even remotely relevant?

He shouldn't have been in
that prison in the first place.

Don't blame us.

You guys are the ones
that put him in there.

Why is any of this
admissible, Mr. Delahunt?

Jordan Bryant made a lot of enemies

while incarcerated, Your Honor.

Some of them are now free
or have g*ng affiliations.

You have fights with other inmates,

threatening guards,
possession of illicit dr*gs.

I'm going to allow it.

Your Honor, how many times do
we need to destroy this man?

Stand down, Mr. Price.
I've made my ruling.

♪

My name is Adam Paxton.

I'm the warden at Elmira State Prison.

Did Jordan Bryant, the
victim in this case,

serve time under your supervision?

Yes, he served 12 years and 3 months.

He went in when he was 28.

He was released 2 years ago
when he was 40 years old?

- Yes.
- Could you describe

Mr. Bryant's time in your prison?

I'd say he made the best of it.

Can you be more specific?

He took cooking classes,
he worked in the kitchen,

and he earned his associate's
degree in business.

That sounds like he remained
optimistic about his future.

Yes, he did as well as he could
for someone in his predicament.

Jordan remained upbeat and productive.

Thank you.

Jordan Bryant almost k*lled
another inmate, didn't he?

Stabbed him with a razor
blade attached to a toothbrush.

He was att*cked by a known g*ng member.

And this g*ng member was serving time

- for a triple homicide.
- Yes.

And this g*ng member has
hundreds of known associates

outside the prison gates?

That's my understanding, yes.

So it's entirely possible...
in fact, it's likely that

Mr. Jordan Bryant's death was
a retaliation for that incident.

Objection.

There is no evidence
to support that claim.

Sustained.

Nothing further.

Redirect, Mr. Price.

Jordan Bryant didn't initiate
any v*olence while in prison.

He was simply protecting himself?

Correct.

The g*ng member Jordan fought
with is still incarcerated.

Yes, he is.

And there's no evidence
that he ever reached out

to another g*ng member in order
to exact revenge on Jordan Bryant?

There is no evidence of that.

Thank you. Nothing further.

Thank you.

You are dismissed.

The People call Chris Wu.

A few days after the m*rder,
detectives came to my work

and asked me to look at some photos.

These are the pictures they showed you?

Yes.

Did you tell the detectives
that you recognized someone?

Yes, Keith Palmer.

I told them he was the guy I saw

running out of the restaurant
the night Jordan was k*lled.

Showing you a photograph
from a store catalog.

Is this the jacket he was wearing?

Yes.

Your Honor, I would offer
a credit card receipt

showing that the defendant purchased

this jacket from Bergdorf Goodman

approximately five months ago.

I'll allow it.

Finally, did you see the defendant

flee the scene in this car?

I did.

Thank you.

You waited on my client and his wife

several times before, correct?

Yes, two or three times.

And yet, when you first
spoke with the police,

you didn't identify him by name.

You just described his physical
appearance in a general way.

That's correct.

How come?

Well, I...

I didn't immediately
put it all together.

And I didn't know his name.
I just knew him by face.

You knew him by face, yet
you didn't tell the police

that you knew the man fleeing the scene?

[TENSE MUSIC]

♪

Like I said, I didn't realize
it was him at the time,

and my friend had just been m*rder*d.

Did you consume any alcohol that night?

No.

Okay. Did you smoke any marijuana?

Do I have to answer that?

[SCOFFS] Well, I think you just did.

Answer the question.

I smoked a little, about an
hour before all this happened.

But I still saw what I saw.

And what you saw was a
man in a shiny green jacket

and a New York Islanders hat.

Nothing you said was
specific to Keith Palmer.

You didn't mention his
hair or his eye color

or his approximate age.

You just saw a white man
in a shiny green jacket

and a New York Islanders hat.

Yeah, I guess.

Thank you.

Nothing further.

Mr. Wu, do you see in this courtroom

the man who was running from
Jordan Bryant's dead body

on the night of the m*rder?

Yeah, right there.

Indicating the defendant.

The People rest.

♪

I liked Jordan Bryant, a lot.

I believed in him, and I
tried my best to help him.

And what did you do to help?

Well, for starters, I
got him out of prison.

Then I got him a lot of money.

When he told me he wanted
to open a restaurant,

I gave him advice.

I helped him secure permits, licenses.

Did you ever go to this
restaurant, Mr. Palmer?

I was there all the time.

My wife loved the food.

Jordan used to joke he
was gonna name something

on the menu after us,
the Heart of Palmer salad.

Mr. Palmer, did you k*ll Jordan Bryant?

- Of course not.
- Okay.

Where were you the
night he was m*rder*d?

I had dinner with a client.

Let me be more specific.

Where were you when the 911
call came in at 11:44 p.m.?

I was driving to our country house.

And can you prove that?

As a matter of fact, I can.

- Is that you?
- Yes.

That was taken by a traffic camera.

Apparently I had run a
red light on the corner

of 42nd and 8th at 11:47 p.m.

- And is that the ticket?
- Yes.

It shows I was six blocks
away from the m*rder scene

at the time the 911 call came in.

Your Honor, we had no notice of this.

This just happened.

Mr. Palmer had no idea he'd
been photographed or cited.

Ticket came into his office
by mail just yesterday.

Please, have a look
at the postage stamp.

♪

I'll allow it.

So, Mr. Palmer, there's no way you
could have committed this m*rder?

Absolutely.

Like I said, I was six
blocks away, in my car.

Thank you.

Nothing further.

Okay, let's break for the day.

Members of the jury, we will reconvene

tomorrow morning at 9:00 a.m.

[GAVEL BANGS]

Hey.

I checked with the
Department of Transportation.

[SIGHS] Their records
confirm Palmer's story?

Palmer ran the red light on


We know the 911 call from the restaurant

came in three minutes earlier.

Did Riley and Shaw do a test drive,

see if it's possible to get from point A

to point B in three minutes?

Mm-hmm. And they drove it four times.

Took anywhere between


and 9 minutes, depending on traffic.

They drive at 11:47 p.m.?

Mm-hmm. Took 3 minutes and 35 seconds.

[SIGHS] So it's possible.

Sort of.

You were standing here?

Yeah, more or less.

What about the lighting?

It was darker, probably.

It was late at night.

All right, where was the k*ller

when you first laid eyes on him?

Over there, about 10 feet from the door.

And you were high?

No, I wasn't like high, high.

Maybe just a little buzzed.

You know?

[TENSE MUSIC]

♪

Oh, God, I need to know how certain
you really are about this ID.

What do you mean, like
on a scale of 1 to 10?

Yeah, sure... on a scale of 1 to 10,



♪

[WHISPERING] 10 being
the most certain...

[SIGHS] I am worried about our case.

In what regard?

I'm not sure we're
trying the right person.

Excuse me?

I'm beginning to think that
Keith Palmer might be innocent.

Innocent?

What are you talking about?

[SIGHS] It's been gnawing at me

for the past few days, and I...

I can't point to one
thing in particular.

It just doesn't seem to add up.

- You mean the evidence?
- Yes.

There's nothing glaring.

There's no smoking g*n, so to speak.

But it's more like,
everything we have is gray.

It could go either way, and
you start wondering if...

I get it.

- You do?
- Mm-hmm.

Having said that,

I've been following
this case pretty closely.

I don't necessarily
agree with your analysis.

I understand it's a complicated case...

for all of us.

I mean, we wouldn't be here
if it weren't for the fact

that we screwed up.

We're the ones that set this
horrible tragedy in motion.

Maybe that's affecting your mindset,

the possibility of
history repeating itself?

- I'm sure it is, but it...
- We're not gods, Nolan.

We don't have some sort of
magic window into the truth,

into what actually transpired.

It is an imperfect process.

It really is.

But it's also the best one there is,

and we have to trust it.

♪

Look, you are a lot
closer to this than I am.

So all I can say to you is
do what you think is right.

[DOOR BUZZER BLARES]

Why are we here, Nolan?

I wanted to tell you in person.

I'm going to be filing
a motion to dismiss

as soon as I get back to the office.

You're dismissing the case?

- Correct.
- So you finally believe me?

You realize I'm innocent?

We no longer think you
k*lled Jordan Bryant.

Well, does that mean you know who did?

It means we're dismissing the case.

♪

[DOOR BUZZER BLARES]

Detective Shaw?

I just notified Palmer that
we're dismissing his case,

but something occurred to me.

[CHUCKLES] Good ol' Nolan Price.

His plan worked like a charm.

Got the confession right here on tape.

Grab your g*n, partner.

Where are we going?

To arrest Jordan Bryant's real k*ller.

Earlier today, this office dismissed

the m*rder charge against Keith Palmer.

I think it's important to
point out that prosecutors play

a critical role in
protecting the innocent

from wrongful conviction.

We are, I suppose, their final defense.

If all else fails, we are the ones

who must stand tall and admit
that a mistake has been made.

I commend prosecutors Price
and Maroun for their integrity

and for their dedication
to seeking the truth

irrespective of the consequences.

It is now evident that this
was a case of mistaken identity.

To put it simply, our eyewitness

identified the wrong person.

The good news is, we
found additional evidence,

and we now believe that the
k*ller is Mr. Palmer's wife.

We have a recording of a phone call

between Mr. and Mrs.
Palmer where she confessed

to k*lling Jordan Bryant.

Amanda Palmer. You're under arrest.

She was trying to protect
her husband's misdeeds

from becoming public,

but Amanda Palmer has been apprehended

by the detectives of the NYPD.

We have charged her with
second-degree m*rder.

And I assure you,
justice will be served.

♪

[DRAMATIC MUSIC]

♪

[WOLF HOWLS]